1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to alignment apparatuses. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning a vehicle header or roof that has bowed, in convex or concave fashion, or is skewed to one side so that the rear door latches cannot engage.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has long been a source of concern in the vehicle industry that upper door frames, commonly referred to as headers, become bowed in convex or concave fashion due to the loading and unloading of cargo via fork lifts. Typically, when the header becomes bowed, the rear door latches will not engage thereby requiring the vehicle to be taken in for repair. Repair of the header is costly due to the fact that the vehicle must be left by the operator for repair at a later date and further since the proper tools, technicians, and service bays must be available.
A further concern in the industry is the tilting of the door frame and cargo compartment to one side when a heavy object presses against a side of the vehicle. Such tilting can easily occur given the current nature of construction of vehicle cargo bays which consists of light weight aluminum to aid in fuel economy. Thus, common vehicle cargo bays and attached door frames have sides and a header constructed of malleable aluminum that can be tilted to one side such that the rear door latches do not engage. When tilting of the cargo bay does occur, lengthy repair is required.
In the past, the primary method of repairing vehicle headers has been via the use of a chainfall and hook apparatus. In operation, a hook is attached to the vehicle header having a chainfall extending underneath the hook. Below the chainfall, and attached thereto, is a chain which is hooked to the bottom door frame by a first technician. A second technician is then required to scale a ladder and attach the chainfall and hook to the header. Once in place, the second technician operates the chainfall in a manner to pull the bowed header down into place such that the door latches become aligned and operable.
Use of the chainfall and hook apparatus is undesirable since it requires at least two repairmen to operate, and will not work if the vehicle header is bowed in a concave fashion requiting the header to be raised vertically. It is also a common practice in the industry to completely replace the header when it becomes damaged because the chainfall and hook apparatus is in effective in fixing the headers. In addition, a further limitation is that the vehicle must be parked in a service bay for lengthy repair if the chainfall and hook apparatus is used.
A possible, but unlikely option would be to use existing equipment for the repair of small containers to fix headers. This equipment, however, lacks many elements needed to perform the task of vehicular header repair and alignment. One such element that is lacking is a means providing proper sight inspection of header alignment. Since many different sizes of vehicles and manufacturers exist, there is no standard vehicle header height or rear door opening. It is therefore necessary to have sight inspection by a service technician for proper alignment of the vehicle header. Thus, if container repair equipment were to be used on a vehicle header, there would be no way a service technician could tell whether the header has been raised or lowered to its proper position such that the door latches are properly positioned.
A further limitation of the use of container repair equipment for header repair is that chains are commonly used between grab portions or members to provide the actuation forces. This requires the use of idler units such as chain sprockets. Use of such chains in a manufacturing setting, where vehicles are typically loaded and unloaded, is undesirable since dirt and debris can clog the chain and mechanism. Unlike hydraulically powered devices, prior art chain driven mechanisms fail to provide sufficient force to repair a vehicle header. The chains can also slip which further decreases performance.
Existing container repair equipment requires one clamp member to be placed on the ground for stability, or alternatively requires a slide carriage support to be secured to the ground when operating in the vertical direction. When one clamp member is placed on the ground, there is a decrease in available force such that the vehicle header may not be able to be repaired. Likewise, if the carriage support is secured to the ground, the apparatus will not be mobile and therefore will be of decreased utility in the manufacturing setting. A still further limitation with the use of container repair equipment for header repair is that a remote toggle switch is not typically provided whereby the service operator can desirably stand at a distance from the equipment when operating it.